The present invention relates to a method and to a clam clip for holding an article such as a sink bowl and the like in a counter top opening.
Sink bowls are conventionally held in an opening in a counter top by way of mounting brackets spot-welded, for example, to the lower surface of the bowl flange overlapping the opening, the brackets being provided with apertures through which are passed fasteners, such as wood screws driven into the counter top material at the edge of the opening, or through the bottom surface of the counter top proximate the edge of the opening. The mounting brackets may be in the form of separate bracket elements welded at convenient locations, or in the form of a molding strip, the brackets being L-shaped in some installation and U-shaped in other installations. Other methods of securing a sink bowl in a counter top opening have been devised which avoid driving fasteners, such as wood screws, into the material of the counter top. Such alternate methods generally use clamping arrangements formed integral with the mounting brackets, including threaded members passed through appropriate threaded apertures in the bracket engaging the surface of the counter top, generally the lower surface proximate the edge of the opening, and holding the sink bowl in position by pulling the bowl flange edge in engagement with the top surface of the counter top proximate the opening.
Conventional clamping arrangements for holding sink bowls in a counter top opening, however, present the disadvantage that they are limited in the amount of pressure or clamping force exerted on the surfaces of the counter top proximate the opening, and further may become loose due to thermal expansion and concentration of the metallic elements and contraction and expansion of the counter top material due to change of humidity in the atmosphere and aging.